![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2021\/12\/keychron-keyboard-from-above-800x600.jpg\")
The first thing you might notice about this keyboard is that despite what I said earlier about insisting on a rotary dial for volume control, this one does not have any knobs whatsoever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is because I found that finding a keyboard with a knob that was also tenkeyless was basically impossible. While there are options out there, I’m not looking to spend a fortune on a keyboard\u2026 and after a lot of thinking about it, I realized I could probably live without the knob as long as the keyboard had good media keys & shortcuts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the volume knob requirement off the table, this is what I was on the lookout for:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- Mechanical keyboard with “Brown” tactile switches<\/li>
- Compact design (no “lip” beyond the keys as in my Das Keyboard)<\/li>
- Media shortcut keys (needing to use a function key is OK)<\/li>
- Good quality keys (I’ve worn out the printing and texture on key caps before)<\/li>
- Not crazy expensive (my Das Keyboard was around $120, so I didn’t want to go any more than that, and ideally less than $100)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2021\/12\/keychron-keyboard-from-the-side-600x800.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThe K8 managed to hit all of these options, and it looked nice as well. It also had a few features I didn’t care about, but might end up being useful – for example, it is technically a wireless Bluetooth keyboard, so I could unplug it and use it with my laptop if I wanted to. It also has RGB back lighting, which I really<\/em> didn’t care about but does look kind of neat at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One thing I thought I’d miss was the integrated USB hub in my Das Keyboard – but the fact is that both of my monitors now have built-in USB hubs, and I don’t really plug and unplug devices very frequently anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2021\/12\/keychron-walnut-wrist-rest-800x600.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nI do like that I was able to get a matching walnut wood wrist rest – my desk is walnut, so it matches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The sound of this keyboard is, surprisingly, very different from my old Das Keyboard, despite ostensibly using the same style of key switch. I think this is largely down to the construction of the base – the Das Keyboard was all-metal, with the keys partially sunk into it, so there was a lot of room for echo, which made the keys sound very “clicky.” But this K8 has a more plastic-y construction, so the sound of the switches is more dulled (maybe I should’ve gone for the one with the aluminum construction\u2026). But I don’t mind the difference, and the feel is just as good – a nice tactile bump that gives me a good typing feel and lets me know if I’ve missed a key press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The space bar sounds a bit hollow on this keyboard – there isn’t much damping under that key – but it’s not bad and I got used to it pretty quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The key caps themselves are very nice – smooth, so I don’t have to worry about wearing off a textured finish – and with the printing being translucent to allow the light through, they labels on the keys won’t wear away with time as they’ve done on other keyboards of mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Like a lot of keyboards of this style, the key switches are semi-exposed on a flat backplate – meaning that the keyboard will be easier to clean, since they aren’t recessed like on my Das Keyboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That said, after living with it for a while, I started to notice some issues. Firstly, the spacing on the keys seemed ever so slightly off\u2026 as if they were a bit closer together, or maybe just that the tops of the keys were slightly smaller. Secondly, the keyboard, despite being plugged in via cable to my computer, sometimes misses key presses when I’m typing very fast – I’ll go to type something that has 2 of the same letters in a row (e.g., the letters “t” in “letters”) and sometimes it’ll come through as “leters” – when I know I pressed the key twice. I’m not sure if I’m just not hitting the key hard enough the second time, or if the keyboard is missing the press\u2026 to me, it certainly feels like I’m hitting the key, and I’ve never had this particular problem on my old Das Keyboard (or on my laptop keyboard). Maybe a future firmware update will address it\u2026?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In any case, thus far I’ve been pretty happy with this keyboard – the RBG lighting is a bit of a gimmick to me, but it’s kind of neat, so I don’t mind, and the typing experience has been very good (aside from the 2 things I mentioned).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2021\/12\/das-keyboard-with-new-black-and-red-keys-600x800.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThat said, I may end up going back to my Das Keyboard\u2026 in fact, I ended up buying a complete new set of key caps for it, as the old ones were starting to actually wear smooth\u2026 but we’ll see. At the very least, I can easily switch back and forth between them as the mood strikes me.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Wherein Keith has opinions on keyboards<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"webmentions_disabled_pings":false,"webmentions_disabled":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"activitypub_content_warning":"","activitypub_content_visibility":"","activitypub_max_image_attachments":3,"activitypub_interaction_policy_quote":"anyone","activitypub_status":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[199],"tags":[23,496,497,100],"class_list":["post-5686","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-my-opinion","tag-computers","tag-keyboards","tag-mechanical-keyboards","tag-opinion","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pimUj-1tI","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5965,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2022\/12\/10\/a-difference-in-key-caps\/","url_meta":{"origin":5686,"position":0},"title":"A Difference in Key Caps","author":"Keith Survell","date":"December 10, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"What difference can keyboard key caps make? Let's find out!","rel":"","context":"In "personal"","block_context":{"text":"personal","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/personal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2022\/12\/das-keyboard-with-red-and-black-keys.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2022\/12\/das-keyboard-with-red-and-black-keys.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2022\/12\/das-keyboard-with-red-and-black-keys.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2022\/12\/das-keyboard-with-red-and-black-keys.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2022\/12\/das-keyboard-with-red-and-black-keys.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6190,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2024\/12\/10\/another-year-another-set-of-key-caps\/","url_meta":{"origin":5686,"position":1},"title":"Another year, another set of key caps","author":"Keith Survell","date":"December 10, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"It's (almost) a new year, and during Black Friday I saw an ad for key caps and it's been a little while since I last changed out my key caps, and the price was good, so I decided to get myself a new set, just to change things up. (Also,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "personal"","block_context":{"text":"personal","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/personal\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3902,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2012\/05\/24\/usb-insanity\/","url_meta":{"origin":5686,"position":2},"title":"USB Insanity","author":"Keith Survell","date":"May 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"A look at the absolutely insane number of USB devices I have hanging off my computer, and the fact that there never seem to be enough ports!","rel":"","context":"In "Gadgets"","block_context":{"text":"Gadgets","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/technology\/gadgets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2012\/04\/usbpendrive_unmount.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4151,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2013\/02\/13\/new-laptop\/","url_meta":{"origin":5686,"position":3},"title":"New Laptop","author":"Keith Survell","date":"February 13, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"After an extended power outage forced me to work from my netbook, I realized it's time for me to get a proper laptop - and this is what I ended up with.","rel":"","context":"In "My Opinion"","block_context":{"text":"My Opinion","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/personal\/my-opinion\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Acer Aspire Timeline X 4830T notebook","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/2013\/02\/notebook-acer-aspire-timelinex-4830t-2313g32mnbb-front-300x220.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2741,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2009\/08\/06\/my-new-netbook-acer-aspire-one\/","url_meta":{"origin":5686,"position":4},"title":"My New Netbook: Acer Aspire One","author":"Keith Survell","date":"August 6, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I finally get the Acer Aspire One netbook I've been lusting after - and it is every bit as good as I'd hoped it would be!","rel":"","context":"In "My Life"","block_context":{"text":"My Life","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/personal\/my-life\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"my new netbook - ryo-ohki","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2521\/3795219458_1e843337c8.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":744,"url":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/2006\/05\/10\/office-bunnies\/","url_meta":{"origin":5686,"position":5},"title":"Office… Bunnies?","author":"Keith Survell","date":"May 10, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"The buns join me down in my office for the day to do some exploring (and other cute things).","rel":"","context":"In "pets"","block_context":{"text":"pets","link":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/category\/personal\/pets\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5686\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.starkeith.net\/coredump\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}